Kin to the Dark
by Atomica96
Summary: After the first fall of Voldemort, Severus finds a new and stronger reason to live. Reciprocated love. But, things get dangerous when the Love of His Life's brother is resurrected at probably the most inconvenient time. Continuing this relationship right under the Dark Lord's...nose will be one of the most difficult missions that Severus has ever accepted on his own. SSxOC
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi there! Wow, so this is what it's like to be a first time writer... Alright! Let's Go!**

**Of course, I own none of the original Harry Potter characters. **

Prologue

It was a frighteningly cold London night and the chilly air nipped at the meagrely clad witch. The New Year was just around the corner and she was already many hours into labour. She had combed the area in search of an orphanage, knowing that she could not take care of her child on her own.

Her Muggle husband had left her, even after hearing that she was with child. It had been a one sided love affair. The witch had bewitched the man from the beginning. Having a knavish relationship with the spellbound Muggle proved to be more than unfufilling in her opinion. But, after freeing him from his enchantment, her dear husband fled, not caring one bit about the impending arrival of his offspring. His departure threw the witch into a deep depression. She did not wish to live, especially with a baby that would be a constant reminder of the man that left.

The witch eventually came to a quaint little orphanage by the name of Wool's Orphanage. She didn't care that it was a muggle orphanage, as long as they would take her child.

"It will be fine here", she muttered hoarsely.

She stumbled up the stairs as she reached for the door. With her strength ebbing away, she desperately pounded on the large doors. Quick footsteps approached and the door swung open. A Muggle woman only a few years older than the witch gasped at the sight of the young witch, who was about ready to have her baby on the front steps.

"Help me…please."

The woman hurriedly ushered the witch inside and prepared her for delivery. Within an hour, the cries of a baby boy filled the building. The witch looked at the child in her arms for a long time.

"You look just like you father, little Tom", she whispered.

"Is that the baby's name, miss?" the woman asked as she re-entered the room after cleaning up.

"Yes, his name is Tom…Tom Marvolo Riddle."

The young witch handed Tom to the woman so she could get him settled in his room. She was left alone in the room to reflect on what had just taken place. He was a beautiful baby. Thank Merlin, he looked just like his father. Her lower than standard mug on a boy would be cruel, she mused. She thought about her previous intentions. She wanted to give birth to the child, then let the depression take her. Without her husband, life did not seem worth living. But, after giving birth, she felt liberated from her sorrows. Without the child as a constant reminder of what was, she realized she could start anew.

She pulled out her wand and made a slashing motion at her forearm and began to bleed profusely. She let her blood create a stain on the bed and created a trail leading to the window. Then, she spied an inkwell. She poured the ink on the windowsill and transfigured it to change the colour from black to a dark red to match the other blood stains. When she was finished, the witch muttered a spell to heal the gash on her forearm. Finally, she opened the window to add the last touch to the disturbing scene. After admiring the view, she looked back at the door that the woman exited from.

"I am truly sorry, Tom. But, things will be better this way. You be a good boy for mummy, ok?"

And with that, the witch apparated without a trace.


	2. Chapter 1: My Name is Rosette

Chapter 1: My Name is Rosette

Rosette woke from her slumber with a jolt. She could hear her parents' arguing, again. They were awfully loud this morning. They were most likely in the foyer on the first floor, and she was able to hear clearly hear them from her room on the fourth floor. The noise kept her from going back to sleep, and there was no way she would be able to talk to either of them for a while. So, the five year old decided to rummage through the piles of toys. Like any spoiled pureblood heir, Rosette had more toys than she knew what to do with. She began sorting out the toys she wanted from those that she would give to the local orphanage.

"Eww! Why do I keep getting these creepy things?" she cried as she tossed aside the unsettling porcelain dolls. While many of the other girls of pureblood status seemed anatomically attached to their precious dolls. Rosette, however, was not a fan of the eerie things. After an unsuccessful attempt at finding something amusing, the little witch decided to get ready for the day. It was a warm day in the English countryside of Kingsbridge. She threw open the doors to her wardrobe and searched for her emerald sundress with the silver butterfly embroidery along the hem. With her dress set aside, she hopped into the shower. When she deemed herself clean enough, she wrapped herself in an earthy green towel that her house elf, Kitzy, had left out for her. She stepped on the stool in front of her sink and looked at herself in the mirror. Her soft almond toned skin had turned a slight red colour due to her scrubbing too hard. Kitzy would no doubt fuss over the slight skin irritation. Her violet eyes still had a bit of sleep in them, and her unruly and curly silver hair would need some serious attention from the house elf as well.

As she began to brush her teeth, there was a loud crash coming from the first floor. Her parents argued often, but rarely did ever break things. This issue must have been quite severe for property to be damaged.

Just then, Kitzy appeared with a popping noise.

"Young Miss Rosey is already awake? Why did Miss not call for Kitzy?" Kitzy pouted, looking rather betrayed.

"Sorry Kitzy. I forgot to call you when I woke up. Do you know why Papa and Mum are fighting this time?" Rosette asked as she slipped her sundress on. "They're dreadfully loud today."

Kitzy began her routine struggle to tame Rosette's monstrous curls. "Kitzy is not sure, Miss Rosey. But Master and Mistress Sarpong have been yelling all morning. Kitzy thinks Young Miss should stay on the upper floors to avoid the yelling for a little while." The house elf was having a more than difficult time with the witch's rebellious curls.

"They're always fussing abou- Ow Kitzy! About silly stuff. Last week, Papa yelled at Mum for having an...A-fair? What's so bad about an A-fair? Was he mad because she went without him? Papa loves going to the fair-"

Kitzy's large round eyes widened. "Miss Rosey! Kitzy does not think this topic is appropriate for a five year old…Let's talk about something else, please?" the elf begged.

"Oh, well alright," She replied a bit puzzled. She didn't see how a fair could be bad. Her mum went to them frequently, apparently. An A-fair must have been a special kind of fair for Papa to get so upset about Mum going without him. "Is my schedule free today? I want to take Apep out for some fresh air!"

Apep was Rosette's cherished Blue Tongued Skink that she had received from her father when he came home from a conference in Australia. He was a very fat and lazy lizard, often caught eating the newspaper bits used to line his cage with. But, to Rosette, he was the best reptilian friend a girl could ever ask for, not that many girls her age asked for lizards. She was overjoyed to realize that Apep could understand the odd hissing noises she made at him. At first, she was just trying to be silly, thinking of questions as she hissed at him. She was startled when the lizard responded with a hiss of his own that, to her, sounded like a reply in her mind. When she told her parents about this, her papa merely laughed and praised her imagination, while her mum held a contemplative gaze at her before abruptly leaving, muttering "in her blood, too".

"Young Miss is free to do as she pleases today. As long as Miss stays on the Sarpong Estate."

The house elf finally managed to control the witch's outrageous tresses. Rosette admired the large puffy pigtails that Kitzy created.

"Oh thank you Kitzy! I love my puffies! They look like marshmallows!" she squealed.

Kitzy smiled adoringly at the five year old as she fawned over the large puffs atop her head.

"It was Kitzy's pleasure. Just make sure Miss stays OUT of the mud today, please? Kitzy had to give Miss Rosey three baths last time Miss thought it'd be a good idea to play in the mud."

Just as Rosette opened her mouth to reply, they both heard Charles Sarpong yell in agony.

"Papa?!" Rosette bolted down the flights of stairs before Kitzy had time to react. As she reached the bottom step, she could see her father on the ground with large gashes across his chest. Her mother was glowering at him with a feral look in her eyes. Her wand was pressed painfully against his temple.

"You've outgrown your usefulness, Charley dear."

"Merope! Please be rational! I just for you to be honest with me. If you are unhappy, I want you to tell me so I can fix the issue and-"

"I'm not unhappy, you wretched fool. I'm bored. You and that child are suffocating me, and at this moment, I don't feel like dealing with you both anymore. I don't feel like being tied down anymore. I should have learned my lesson after having Tom."

Rosette listened in horror to her mother's words. She had to be lying, right? She didn't really want them dead, did she? Rosette watched as her mother jabbed at her father's open wounds with her wand. Her father howled as the wand twisted and prodded at his raw flesh. His pain turned into fright as he caught sight of his young daughter out the corner of his eye. He wanted nothing else but the safety of his only child.

"But what has Rosette ever done to you?! Please, just leave her be? She's only a child."

Merope removed her wand and sauntered around the foyer.

"No no no Charles. I want to start completely over with my life. I can't do that if she is still alive."

"You're psychotic," he seethed.

"How nice of you to finally see that, dear.

"I don't understand your motives. We've been married for 15 years. I know that I have given you everything you have ever asked of me without a second thought. But now, we seem to mean nothing to you? I know I will live beyond this day," he paused to glance back at his daughter and muttered, "But, you will not harm a hair on MY child's head."

With a swift motion, he managed to grab his wand out of his robes and desperately cast _**Diffindo**_. The charm hit Merope on the side of her head. She fell back, hitting her head against the wall and sunk to the floor. Rosette looked at the gruesome scene before her. Her malicious mother's body leaned against the wall. Her dark red blood oozed from her cleaved head. The wall behind her was streaked with blood of her descent. Her father remained motionless on the floor. The child cautiously made her way to her father as tears began to form from her violet eyes. He slowly turned to face her and took her hand in his.

"Rosey," he started. "I'm sorry. You must think I'm a terrible papa, huh?"

"No no, Papa! I don't think that at all!" she sobbed as she squeezed his hand.

"Be a good girl, alright? I love you."

"Papa?"

"And take this with you," He handed her his wand, "I won't be needing this and want you to have it. I'm not sure it will listen to you much, but just keep it."

"No Papa! This is your wand. You need this for work. You have to get up!" she begged as she looked from the wand to him.

"Be good Rosey. I love you." The light in his eyes died as his last words rolled off his tongue. Rosette stared at the lifeless body of her father in shock and confusion. She let go of his hand and hugged his still form.

"I love you too, Papa," she wept. She held him close for another twenty minutes before the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol trailed onto the estate behind Kitzy. A kind patrol witch peeled her off her father's body and held her while she cried, his wand still in her tiny hands.

* * *

"And who might you be?" asked a gentle voice that Rosette failed to register.

She was took busy taking in her surroundings. The large marble building that was Kingsbridge Orphanage stood before her was designed to look like a Greek temple. It was shiny due to its dedicated upkeep by the diligent staff. Beautiful white climbing roses coiled around the pillars from top to bottom. The enormous yard was littered with toys and broomsticks that the other children carelessly sloppily discarded when they were done playing. Despite the numerous object on the ground, the grass was a rich green colour that made the place seem even more unbelievable to Rosette. Orphanages were supposed to be dreary and rundown, according to her muggle story book, _Oliver Twist_. Children ran around with smiles, laughing and frolicking with each other. This was a most perplexing sight.

"Young lady?" the voice said again. A gentle hand tapped on Rosette's shoulder, finally catching her attention. "What is your name?"

"Rosette Adalinda Sarpong," the tiny witch stated shyly. "Is this really an orphanage? It looks too happy to be one. Aren't they supposed gross looking? And aren't you supposed to be mean and ugly? You must not be doing something right."

The old woman merely giggled at the girl's bluntness. Rosette was right. The woman was not a mean and ugly looking person. She was a little old lady, about 5"1. Her long white hair was worn up in a tight bun, accentuating her round and slightly chubby face, little nose, thin lips, and wide grey eyes. She wore what Rosette considered to be an "old person" dress because to her, it looked like the woman decided to wear someone's hideous drapes as clothing. Nevertheless, she was still a very pleasant looking lady.

"Well Miss Rosette, this is indeed an orphanage, and I don't think I'm a mean and ugly lady. I'm sorry to disappoint you," she chuckled, "I hope you will overlook these errors. I am sorry to hear that you have been through so much this past week, but I assure you, I will try to make your stay here as pleasing as possible. My name is Mrs. Hutchinson. Shall I show you to your room? I will introduce you to the other children afterwards."

"Okay. Can Apep come with me?"

The tiny hands reached for a pocket inside her tiny travelling cloak and pulled out the fat skink, who seemed to have been munching on candy that was long forgotten in the pocket that he was in.

"Of course, dear. Will he be needing a cage?"

"No. He likes to sleep at the foot of my bed."

"Alright then, dear." Mrs. Hutchinson replied as they entered the building.

After climbing two flights of stairs, they entered a hallway that mentioned as the Girls Hall. They came to a simple wooden door with a decorative pink label on the front.

"Si-o-ban? And Rosette?" the child asked. She had never seen a name like that before and had no idea how to pronounce it.

The door suddenly swung open, revealing a girl no older than Rosette. The only thing brighter than her hazel eyes was her long fiery red hair. She was an inch or two taller than Rosette. Her hair was dishevelled and fell all over her face, but that did nothing to cover the freckles that covered the bridge of her pointed nose. Her red t-shirt and grey shorts were covered in blue paint and cookie crumbs.

"Siobhan. Sha-Vah-n…O'Brien. That's how you say my name. Nice to meet you!" the girl exclaimed with a thick Irish accent as her held out her hand for Rosette to shake. Rosette cautiously shook the hand, introduced herself and was rewarded with a signature Siobhan smile. Her two front teeth were missing, leaving a rather amusing gap. Rosette returned the gesture with a smile of her own.

"Mrs. Hutchinson said you were gonna be here today, so I made sure I cleaned up!" she stated happily, "I can help her get settle. Most of her stuff is already here."

"Alright, Siobhan. If you think you can take things from here, I'll be outside with everyone else. Try not to overstimulate her." Mrs. Hutchinson laughed as she made her way back downstairs.

The two girls walked into their room. It was a charming little beige bedroom with a bunk bed set up and two wardrobes off to the side. There were two small desks for them to use. In between the desks stood a heavily stocked bookcase filled with muggle and wizard story books, as well as a few large tomes on things like magical creatures, charms, and potions.

"Do you want the top or bottom bunk?" Siobhan asked as Rosette surveyed her new living space.

Rosette looked at the bunk bed. She had never seen one before. The top bunk would be the death of her, not being used to being that high off the ground. She did not trust that she wouldn't roll off the bed and break her face in her sleep. Plus, Apep's squishy self would never be able to get up and down from there without help.

"I'll take the bottom. It would be safer," she giggled at the thought of Apep struggling to scale up the ladder with his stubby little legs and fat body. She walked over to her bunk and laid down on the soft bed. She starred up at her view of the bottom bunk. It was like a blank canvas, prompting her with an idea. She hopped out of the bed and went over to one of the desks. After rummaging around a bit, she found some tape. She went back to the bunk and began pulling things out of her cloak. There were old pictures that she and her father had drawn together, a few muggle bottle caps, her mother's silver serpent hairpin, and a few pictures of her and her parents. She spent a couple of minutes taping the items to the bottom of the bunk so she could always look up at them. Finally, she pulled out two smaller photos, one with her mother, father, and herself on a picnic. The other was just of her and her father, smiling with pure bliss. The last thing she pulled out was her father's wand that she had tragically inherited. Instead of taping them to the bunk, she put these three items under the large pillow on her bed.

"Okay Siobhan! I'm ready," she said as she set her travelling cloak on the bed. Apep crawled out and made his way up Rosette's arm, on a mission to settle himself atop her head so he could sleep in her curly silver mane. Siobhan jumped down from her top bunk with a large toothy grin plastered on her face. She grabbed Rosette's hand with excitement.

"Let's go, Rosette!"

* * *

Many kilometres away, a man picked up a _Daily Prophet_. He usually never read the silly paper, but seeing how he had time to kill before it was time to kill, he thought he should find something entertaining. "_Domestic violence ends in two deaths. Charles and Merope Sarpong were found dead in their home last week after an argument took a turn for the worst, leaving behind a five year old daughter." _he read. _Foolish people,_ he though. He was about to throw the paper away when something in his memory clicked. _Merope? That is a far from common name…It couldn't be…mother? And a child? No, that's impossible._

**A/N: Gentle reviews are always welcomed! Thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2: Surprise!

Chapter 2: Surprise!

It had been two years since Rosette started living at the orphanage. Life was nice there. She had made plenty of friends within days of her arrival. Siobhan had become her best friend and the girls were inseparable. From sun up to sun down, red and silver hair were always seen in the same room. The girls were like sisters but far from being alike. Siobhan was overall loud and somewhat of a tomboy. A little rough around the edges but a remarkable athlete for only being seven. Flying on a broomstick was like breathing to her. At this rate, she would turn out to be a very praiseworthy quidditch player when it came time for her to go Hogwarts. Rosette on the other hand was much more laid back and studious. She had already memorized the contents of every tome the orphanage had and had to start making frequent trips to the library to satisfy her insatiable hunger for knowledge. She had become very skilled with casting charms using her father's wand that had apparently accepted her as its new master, started Legilimency practice, and had even begun to use wandless magic with ease.

It was December 17th. Fluffy white snow covered the entire orphanage. It was the perfect scene for frolicking children, but no one was frolicking. In fact, no one was outside. The snowy dreamscape was left untouched because everyone was inside, frantically preparing for Siobhan's birthday party. There were balloons to be inflated, streamers to be hung, hats to be worn, and a giant cake to be decorated, all before Rosette and Siobhan returned from the library.

"I love you and all, Rosey…but the library is the last place I wanna be on my birthday, ya know?" Siobhan grumbled. Rosette smirked but continued to browse the "Charms" section. She had nearly exhausted the library's school level textbooks.

"YOU'RE the one that said you would go with me, Bhan. I'm almost done. There are only a few tomes left that I haven't read yet. We're gonna go to the broom store next."

"For what? You're a terrible flyer and are afraid of heights."

Rosette just stared at Siobhan for a moment. Rosette loved her like a sister, but Siobhan had her dense moments.

"Bhan," she sighed, "You're the one that flies, dodo. It's your birthday. I'm trying to get you something. Anything you want! Besides a new broom!" Rosette added quickly.

"Weeeell, I could use a new broom service kit. Alright, let's go!"

Rosette finished checking out her books, and the girls made their way to Bianco's Broom Shop. With it being so close to Christmas, the shop stayed crowded. Brooms and gear were flying off the shelf at an alarming and highly profitable rate, much to Bianco's delight.

"Alright. Put whatever you want in the trolley," said Rosette. After her parent's horrific end, she had ended up inheriting two estates and a vault in Gringotts full enough for several generations to live luxury. "Hurry up, though. We have to be back for the par- er...dinner. You know how much it displeases Mrs. Hutchinson when we're late. And I'm serious. Today is your day. Get anything."

Siobhan grinned and nodded gratefully to her friend and began to browse around. Rosette's fear of heights had always kept her from enjoying anything broom related, but she truly longed to fly one day. As Siobhan gleefully began to fill up the trolley, Rosette squeezed her way through the mass of customers to get to a display case. _To think that muggles use these masterpieces to clean their floors with. What a silly thing to do. A waste of a good broom, if you ask me, _she mused as she admired a customizable broom. These were the new thing in Kingsbridge. The more galleons a person had, the better the broom could be modified to their penchant. After a few minutes, she decided it was time to gather Siobhan and check out. However, when she had turned around, she accidentally collided with someone. The force knocked her on her backside.

"I'm sorry, Sir," she apologized. She looked up to see that it was a man, presumably in his early forties, with dark hair. She was slightly astonished at the sight of his vaguely snake-like face. To her surprise, the man simply reached down to grab her by the arm and pulled her up.

"Be careful, child," he mumbled as he made his way for the exit.

_Something about him seems familiar…who is that? I've never seen him around town before. I wonder-_

"Rosey?!" Siobhan yelled, cutting through Rosette's reverie, "I'm finished! Where'd ya go? Roooooseeeyyy!"

"Over here, Bhan! Did you find everything?" Rosette asked as she looked in the trolley.

"Sure did! Thanks again."

"You're welcome. Now, let's go check out."

To Siobhan's displeasure, Bianco wasn't manning the cashier today. It was the "boorish chit", as she called her. The witch had the social skills of a mouse trap. When the said witch saw the "red brat" and her friend make their way to the counter, her expression became one of pure disinterest. If it was up to her, she would just ignore them until they gave up and went away. But, since there were customers behind them and Mr. Bianco scolded her for her conduct last time, she decided against it.

"That'll be seventeen galleons and four sickles," she jeered. There was no way the "red brat" could pay such a price. She had seen her plenty of times in the store, buying only discounted items with the few coins she had. And today, she comes to the counter with some of the best bits and pieces in the store? The witch would enjoy watching her have to shamefully put the items she had hoped on getting back. Rosette didn't need her Legilimency to see the malice this woman had towards her friend. She reached into her messenger bag, past her father's wand, and pulled out her coin purse. She poured a bunch of galleons out on the counter. She then slid eighteen galleons towards the woman.

"Keep the change," she said smugly as Siobhan snickered. The look on the woman's face was priceless. _I don't even carry eighteen galleons on me. And SHE had a giant coin purse FULL of them! Who is this kid?!_

The two girls giggle at the dismay displayed on her face. _That'll teach her_. They collected their purchases and exited the store, still so full of mirth.

"Thanks, Rosey. That chit has been a fan of trying to snub me since she started working here a couple months ago. I was really getting tired of it."

"It's no problem, Bhan. No one messes with my sister and gets away with it. They'll all have to answer to me!"

"Likewise!" Siobhan beamed.

The two began walking back to the orphanage when Rosette decided to launch a snowball at the unwary Siobhan. The snowball hit her head with a _**POOF**_.

"Rosey!" she cried excitedly. But, Rosette was nowhere to be found when she turned around. _Bloody disillusion charms, _she pouted. _How am I supposed to find her? _After looking around, Siobhan spied something. Footprints, a boot to be exact…Rosey's boot. "Magically" appearing every second. They looked like they were trying to make their way behind her. Siobhan decided it was time to test her Chaser abilities by aiming a large snowball a couple feet above the footprints. It was like hitting an invisible wall. This wall, however, yelped as the cold snow invaded her nose. The disillusion charm fell as she sputtered, making an effort to get the snow out. Siobhan threw her head back in bliss.

"Gotcha! Very sneaky, Rosey! But you may want to learn a levitation spell or something, so your feet don't give you away!"

Rosette shot Siobhan a playful glare, then chuckled. They continued their trek back to the orphanage, shuffling their feet in the snow and making snow angels every few meters. It was around five in the evening before the girls made it back. Although the lights were off, rustling could be heard coming from inside as they climbed the steps. There were a few more shuffling sounds, followed by many "SSHHH"'s. Siobhan raised her brow at the unusualness of the orphanage. She was use to the noise that came with living with twenty-two other kids.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Rosette urged, pushing her closer to the door. Siobhan turned the door knob and pushed forward. The girls walked into the building. It was dark, and even Rosette had to admit it was a little off-putting. The others did a little TOO well. Just as Siobhan was about to call out, the entire place lit up and everyone shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIOBHAN!"

The redhead's face was one of pure elation as she started to hug every child and staff member there. When her parents were alive, her birthday was not a day that was looked forward to. Her mother was just didn't care, and her father was a workaholic. Taking a day off to celebrate "one year closer to death", a he called it, was a waste of time to him. So, birthdays up until now were meaningless, so much to where she almost forgot when her birthday was. But, for the last two years, this day had become something to get excited about.

Siobhan rounded to face her best friend, "You knew didn't you? Oh, you're a sly one, Rosette Adalinda. Thank you so much."

Rosette pulled her friend into a big bear hug. "You're welcome, Bhan. You deserve to have at least one day out of the year all to yourself. Now, you're eight! Three more years until Hogwarts!"

"Yeah! Then I'll be a quidditch star and you'll be like, a mega prefect nerd! It'll be great. What house do you think you'll be put in? I'll probably be in Gryffindor."

"Hmmm," Rosette thought for a moment. She had never really thought about which house she would be in. Her parents never brought up Hogwarts very much, seeing as how her father went to a wizarding school in France after he left his home in Ghana. Her mother never really said anything about her alma mater. Did she even go to school? But, over the past two years at the orphanage, she had learned enough about the houses to get a general understanding of them each. Gryffindor was for the brave and the jocks. She was brave, but anything but jockish. Ravenclaw was for the ones that liked to study until the crack of dawn. Most people's brains would become mush after studying that much. Rosette liked learning, loved to read, but at a leisurely pace. Hufflepuff was… where you went if you had no other qualities besides being nice. Rosette did not even entertain her imagination with the thought of her being in Hufflepuff. Many tears would be shed if she was placed there. Finally, there was Slytherin. For the quick-witted, the sly and cunning…

Just as Rosette was about to answer, Mrs. Hutchinson announced that it was time to eat. All of the children made their way to the dining room, eagerly waiting for the legendary birthday feasts that the staff was known for. Oh, how they loved when it was someone's birthday.

"Close your eyes everyone!" the little old lady told them. With a wave of her wand, all the food that was prepared for the meal suddenly appeared on the table before them. She grinned, knowing the reaction from the children would be more than worth all of the hours spent cooking. "Alright! You may open them," she chuckled.

The din of the children's excitement was nearly deafening. Ham, potatoes, green beans, gravy, bread, and chocolate milk adorned the large table. But, that wasn't what really got the kids animated. Before them lay a huge bowl full of the cheesiest macaroni and cheese they had ever laid eyes on. Mrs. Hutchinson knew that no one loved mac and cheese more than Siobhan. The red head looked as if she had died and gone to heaven. The children began their assault on the glorious meal, wolfing down the contents of their plates and then asking for second, thirds, even fourths.

"Is there going to be cake?" shouted one of the children. The others gasped. They had almost forgotten about the cake! "We're done!" they all shouted.

"Close your eyes then," Mrs. Hutchinson told them. When all of them had their eyes closed, she vanished away the leftovers for later. They didn't know that she knew that they often came downstairs in the middle of the night to raid the kitchen. If she wanted to, she could have charmed the tubberware to simply not open for them, or worse…charm it to yell and scold them for being up at such hours. But, she was a nice lady. Plus, the children only seemed to eat the darn leftovers after midnight for some reason anyway. She feared if she did not give them that chance to eat at night, the leftovers would never be eaten. They solely refused to touch them during NORMAL eating hours. As bewildered by the behaviour as she was, she never question the children.

With another wave of her wand, the table top became blanketed by what she called "Diabetics Delight". There was chocolate and vanilla pudding, jellos of many flavours, donuts of all sorts, and ice cream for days! One more wave, and a large marble cake with whipped cream icing appeared in the centre of the long table. It was decorated with eight candles and read, "_Happy Birthday Siobhan". _Despite Mrs. Hutchinson's wishes, one of the children snuck a peep at the scene before them and let out a loud gasp, prompting the others to open their eyes, too.

"WOW!" they all shouted. The desire to throw themselves on the table and gobble down the splendid site displayed clearly on their little faces.

"Oh darn," Mrs. Hutchinson pouted, "You all were supposed to wait. I guess it can't be helped. Siobhan, it's time to blow out your candles!" She quickly lit the candles with her wand and pushed the cake closer to Siobhan. "Don't forget to make a wish, dearie."

Siobhan propped herself up on the table. _What do I wanna wish for? _She turned to look at Rosette for a moment. _Even though my parents are dead, I still have family members._ Indeed,Siobhan had living family members. They were all very poverty-stricken and lived in the most western point in Ireland. It was much more beneficial for Siobhan to stay at the orphanage since a large portion of her inheritance could not be accessed until she was of age. _But, Rosette said as far as she knew, she had no living relatives. I hope that's not true. I hope she is able to find someone related to her soon. _And with that, Siobhan blew out the candles.

After the children had successfully stuffed their faces with enough sugar to change the composition of their blood completely, Mrs. Hutchinson stood up to make another announcement.

"Alright you lot! Why don't we go outside and burn off some of those sweets? Merlin, I know if you don't, this building will be much too lively all the way 'til daybreak. Go on! Get out there!"

The horde of children ran outside with too much energy for their own good…and then they all ran back inside to get the coats, hats, and gloves they left behind. Once they were all bundled up, they ran back outside to play in the snow. The snow was well over a foot high due to the absence of children trampling all over it during the day. It was around seven in the evening and the sun had already gone down.

"Let me add some lighting here," Mrs. Hutchinson said. She had several outdoor lights scattered throughout the yard for the children so that their outdoor activities would never have to cease because it got dark. But, the display looked much better with the snow everywhere. Then, Mrs. Hutchinson grabbed a bunch of Jr. Flyer broomsticks. "Snowball fight on brooms, anyone?"

The children eagerly took a broom and flew after each other with snowball in hand. All except for Rosette, who preferred to run around, trying desperately to dodge Siobhan's air assault. Even Mrs. Hutchinson decided to partake in the fun and used her wand to flick a barrage of snowballs at the airborne children.

After two hours of pelting each other with projectile snow, the children were all tuckered out and very cold. It was time to get ready for bed. One by one, the children hung up their brooms, wished Siobhan a happy birthday again, and said their "Good Nights" to Mrs. Hutchinson. Mrs. Hutchinson had taught them well enough and no longer needed help getting ready for bed. The twenty-four children scrambled up the stairs, ready to peel off their icy, soggy clothing and exchange them for a warm bath and pyjamas.

"Today was great, Rosey! I had so much fun! And look at all this stuff I got!" Their floor was covered with gifts from some of the other children and staff. There were even a few from some vendors from the shopping district. "Me axudar a abrir estes!"

"You know darn well I don't speak that forest druid tongue! But, I'm going to take a guess. You want me to help you open these, correct?"

"Deberas!" Siobhan snickered.

So, the two girls took their baths, got dressed, and began tackling the pile of gifts. When they were done, they counted: two jars of broom wax, a bristle replacement kit, thirty chocolate frogs, an assortment of various quidditch jerseys, thermal socks, quills with rainbow ink, and a few American Muggle treats called, ''Twinkies".

"What do you suppose this is?" Siobhan said as she held up one of the Twinkies. They looked like little yellow cakes.

"They're awfully squishy," Rosette replied, gently squishing one in her hands. "Hold on! It's got filling inside it! Look!"

Sure enough, the Twinkie did had a filling. The girls stared at the little cake for a while, debating on eating it or not.

"Merlin! Look at all the sugars it has!" Rosette exclaimed.

Siobhan gasped. "Gimme one," as she shoved the entire cake down her hatch. "Ish welly gud! Ty wun!" she said with her mouth full of the cake.

"You could have finished chewing. It'd be a shame if you died on you birthday because you were being hasty." Rosette took a small bite out of the Twinkie. "It is pretty good. I think we would die if we ate all of these tonight, though."

"Agreed," Siobhan finally managed to get out.

The girls put the Twinkies and chocolate frogs into a bowl, broom related objects into the closet, and clothing in the wardrobes. Afterwards, they both climbed into their bunks.

"Goodnight, Siobhan. And again, Happy Birthday! I hope you wish comes true," Rosette said as she turned off the lights.

"Goodnight, and thank you," she whispered. _I hope it comes true, too._

* * *

The man looked at the small town. _So many mudbloods and halfbloods in this place. Vermin. It's disgusting. We will cleanse this place next. I heard that the orphanage is for pureblood and halfblood children. Since they're parents are dead, I have no way of truly telling them apart. I will spare the orphanage. The purebloods will one day learn of how abominable the existence mudbloods and halfbloods are. Then they will join me, and I will guide them. Yes, one week from now, _he mused. He then looked at the shopping district. _It was actually a nice little area. Very crowded. Especially that broom shop. I knocked a young girl down in there on accident… That girl. Why does she seem so familiar? I don't know any children. Adorable little thing, too. Unruly silver curls, violet eyes, almond coloured skin. Very foreign. She was practically seeping magic, too. At such a young age? What was she, like seven? Who is that child?_

_**A/N: Gentle reviews are always welcomed! Thank you for reading! **_


	4. Chapter 3: Merry Christmas?

**A/N: Thank you for reading this far. :) I say, this is a lot of fun. Favourite and Follow for updates!**

Chapter 3: Merry Christmas?

The week leading up to Christmas was anything but quiet. All of Kingsbridge went into yule frenzy. Just about every single tree was heavily decorated with ornaments. The sidewalks, houses, and stores were lined with enough flashing Christmas lights to give everyone in heaven an epileptic seizure. The town practically oozed Christmas. If a person was not singing carols, they were passing out gingerbread cookies…and fruitcake to the children's disapproval. If they were not passing out food, they were carrying around mistletoes in hopes of some holiday snogging. The weather was cold, but the sensation of the town was very warm.

Things were just as festive at the orphanage. A large Christmas tree was brought into the main hall for the kids to decorate as they saw fit. It was covered from head to toe with stars, popcorn, small crafts, bulbs, fake icicles, and glitter. Every bedroom door had a wreath decorated by the occupants on it. Mrs. Hutchinson even created clouds on the ceiling of the main hall that would snow from noon to bedtime, albeit it was only fake snow that disappeared when it came into contact with anything. The fireplace stayed lit and burned special cinnamon infused logs that's smell permeated throughout the entire building. The staff had also taken the time to make a bottomless hot cocoa and cider dispenser for everyone's enjoyment, not just the children.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Rosette realized that she had no new books to read, and if she did not get to the library by three o'clock that afternoon, she would not get a chance to check out the new potions tome until January 2nd when the library would open back up. She was very alarmed to see that it was already eleven o'clock in the morning. Breakfast hours had already gone by and lunch would not be until one. With no time to spare, she quickly showered and threw on her knee length green thermal dress with silver trimmings on hem and ends of the sleeves. It thankfully had a hood attached to shield her ears from the cold. She put on black knee length socks on and slipped on a pair of black Mary Janes. She was just about to leave when she walked past the mirror and caught sight of her hair. _Whhhyyyy?! _ she groaned. She did the best she could to contain the mass of curls by putting them into a ponytail with the green and silver ponytail holder Siobhan had gotten her last year for her birthday. She then, braided some of the stray curls that had fallen on the right side of her face and slipped a green hair bead onto the braid. After grabbing her coat and messenger bag (which seemed a little heavier than she remembered), she raced downstairs. She decided to forgo trying to make cereal and opted to just take a pear with her.

Mrs. Hutchinson was in the middle of doing the laundry. Laundry day was an all day job at the orphanage.

"I'm going to make a quick run to the library, Mrs. Hutchinson!" Rosette yelled as she opened the main door.

Mrs. Hutchinson snorted. _There's no such thing as a "quick run to the library" with that child. _"Alright, dearie! Be back before four!" she replied.

Rosette began her mad dash to the library, only slowing down to say "hello" to those that insisted on greeting her. _I never run. Can't they see that I'm in a hurry? Oh no, oh no! It's already noon! _

Rosette let out a sigh of relief as she rounded the corner and saw the library. She quickly dropped her books into the return slot outside the door, ran inside, and made a beeline to the front desk.

"I'd like to check out that potions tome, now! You put it on reserve for me, right?" she asked hastily.

The little old man behind the counter smiled at her as he fixed his half-mooned spectacles. "Ah, yes…young Rosette. I have already shelved the book," Rosette's expression shifted from excitement to extreme anguish. "But, it is still there. No one but you checks out academic tomes, so there was no need to ever worry. Go on."

Those words mentally resuscitated Rosette's spirit, and the girl took off towards that said part of the library. After searching the bookcase for the intended tome, she finally spotted it… on the top shelf._ Figures it would be all the way up there… _She needed that tome. Now. She made sure the coast was clear before reaching in her bag for her father's wand. While digging around, her hand brushed on something scaly. And fat.

"_Apep! You fat nuisance! What are you doing in here?!"_

The lizard barely looked up at her and yawned, _"Something didn't seem right in the air, so I decided to come along. Problem, Adalinda?"_

Rosette scowled at the skink after noticing that he had been chewing on the pear she was saving. _"Why did you eat my pear?! And why do you never call by my FIRST name?"_

"_I thought we were going to share. You act as if I ate the entire thing. I could have if I truly wanted to, but I didn't. Give me the credit when it is due. And I prefer your middle name. 'Noble Serpent'. I think it sounds rather nice."_

"_Just move over so I can get papa's wand."_

"_As you wish" _

Rosette finally pulled the wand out of her bag. "_**Accio **__**Tome**__!"_ The tome zoomed off the shelf and into her free hand.

Apep's reasoning for coming with her began to bug her. He always seemed to know when bad things were going to happen, like when her parents were going to argue or when it was going to storm really bad and et cetera.

"_What do you mean "something did not seem right in the air"? It's Christmas Eve. Everyone is happy and there has been no talk of bad weather. Maybe you're just a Scrooge."_

"_Adalinda, this air is not from Kingsbridge, and it reeks of malicious intent." _Apep warned. For once, he sounded very grave. This worried Rosette quite a bit. Apep was rarely ever serious about anything, and when he was, things unfavourable happened. _"Things feel off."_

"_Maybe you're right…I'll go ahead and check out this tome. Then I'll go straight hom-"_

A loud boom interrupted the two's conversation.

"_Adalinda…"_

Another boom, this time even louder and bits of the ceiling began to crumble.

"_You need to run, fool! Forget about checking the silly book out, just take it and ru-"_

The ceiling of the library began to cave in. One of the bookcases was hit by the falling ceiling and fell, causing the others to domino with it. Rosette ran to avoid being crushed. She was almost out of the way, when a large number of books fell. One of them managed to hit right above her heel, making her fall. As much as it hurt, she did not want to be crushed by the bookcase, so she started to crawl as fast as she could. She was just about there when her luck ran out. The bookcase came down square on her heel, effectively cutting into her flesh and snapping the bone. Her blood curdling scream rang throughout the building. Apep swiftly exited the bag to survey the damage.

"_Oi, this is very bad. You're going to have to try to levitate this bookcase off of your leg."_

Rosette looked at her situation through her tears. She had never moved an object that large before. A watermelon was the largest object she had ever lifted before, and even that came with difficulties. She began to cry and shake violently.

"_I- I c-c-c-can't d-do it!" _she wailed. _"It's t-t-too hea-heav-v-vy."_

Apep sighed. Things would end on a gruesome note if she did not calm down and move the bookcase. _"Focus. Reach out with your hand and concentrate. I know you can do it. You're without a doubt, the smartest seven year old I have ever seen, and your magic rivals that of a fifth year. I believe in you. Now, move the bookcase."_

Rosettenodded at her scaly companion and held her hand out towards the bookcase, mustering all the all the magic she could. It was beyond heavy. The first few tries to move the massive object complete failures. The bookcase only let up ever so slightly before coming back down onto her broken heel, eliciting another agonizing cry from her. _"Apep-" _

"_Move. The. Bookcase. Little one." _

She shot him a tearful glare but nodded silently. After a few more minutes of hopeless attempts, she was finally able to lift the bookcase enough to wiggle her mangled foot out of harm's way and allowed herself to mewl. Her heel and below were an utterly imbrue mess. Her shoe was lost in the pile of books that fell with the bookcase, and the bottom of her sock was shredded and damp with her blood. Despite her extensive knowledge of magic, healing was a topic she hadn't gotten to. She looked sullenly at her foot. _"W-what am I g-g-going to do about m-m-m-m-my f-foot?"_

Apep sighed dejectedly, _"You don't know any spells to fix yourself up, huh?_

Rosette dolefully shook her head.

He sighed, again. _"Can you at least clean it up? We don't need you contracting anything."_

She weakly held her hand over her foot and cast _**Scourgify**_. The bits of dirt and dried blood in and around the wound instantly washed away, leaving her feeling a little better. She tried to stand, but the possibility of that was quickly denied as she let out a yelp and crumbled back to the floor. Seeing as how standing was out of the question, she began to crawl forward so she could see what became of the library. She pulled herself up onto a fallen pillar and gasped.

The library overall was a heartrending site. Much of the ceiling lay on the ground, making the place look like nothing more than a large pile of rubble and torn paper. Whatever caused the loud boom also managed to scorch the building, as part of the library continued to smoke. Some of the books were still on fire to Rosette's dismay. _Not the books, _she thought sadly. Then, an ugly little realization wriggled into her head. Where was the little old man? She scanned the area for the check-out desk. Her heart sunk when her eyes found a gory scene. There was not much of a desk left. Instead, a massive part of the ceiling seemed to have fallen right where the old mad sat. Physically and emotionally exhausted, she slumped off the pillar and landed back on the floor. Out of what was left of the window, she could see that the rest of the town most likely looked like the library. She could see the smoke of the other burning stores and vaguely hear muffled screams and panicked footsteps. _What's going on? How could this have happened? What about the orphanage? Siobhan! _These thoughts ran through her head for a long moment before she heard the voices of unknown people. She quickly crawled to a small hiding space made by the fallen rubble and focused towards the sound of the voices. Soon after, she found who the voices belonged to. A group of witches and wizards in heavy dark robes and eerie masks browsed the area.

One of them laughed maniacally, "That just about does it! This place has been cleared of all the scum. A shame, though. This was a disgustingly beautiful little town."

"Indeed," Another tall wizard agreed, "Maybe we will come back and rebuild this area for the next pureblood generation."

"Wonder why we were told not to touch the orphanage. Not much of a cleansing if we leave some alive right?" a stout witch asked curtly.

Rosette stifled a sigh of relief. Thank heavens the orphanage was spared.

"Most of those children are purebloods that lost their parents for whatever reason. They'll be recruitable when they start their years at Hogwarts," a skinny wizard answered. "The Dark Lord told us to return to the Riddle House after we finished."

"Go without him?"

"That's what he said. I think we should leave now to avoid being tardy. I personally am not a fan of his punishments."

The others mumbled in agreement before they all disapparated.

Rosette sat in silence, thinking about what she had just heard. She had no previous knowledge of a group that went around killing those that weren't purebloods for fun, due to the amount of sheltering her parents insisted on. And Mrs. Hutchinson never mentioned them either. The thought of their actions made Rosette feel ill. If that group truly carried out their mission, no one in the town should have survived. The town was full of muggleborns and halfbloods, with the exception of a few pureblood families. The reason why the orphanage was full of pureblood children was because the orphanage had a great reputation. Pureblood families in surrounding towns went through the trouble of making sure their children were placed there if anything were to happen. Knowing that their child would be placed in Kingsbridge Orphanage if anything were to happen gave them peace at mind, especially those with dangerous jobs.

Rosette looked around for Apep and found he had crawled back in her bag.

"_What do you think we should do, Apep? I don't think anyone is alive. I can't walk. My foot hurts really badly." _

Apep looked at their surroundings. Things looked pretty bleak. He wished he hadn't been so hoggish earlier with the pear. In reality, he could go for days without eating just fine. But, for some reason, he was born with a love of food and at times, ate more than a human. But Rosette would need to eat soon, seeing as how she skipped breakfast and it was already lunchtime. At least he saved half of the pear, right?

He sighed, _"I'm sure the Aurors will be here soon…" _He knew they were going to be there for a while before the Aurors got there. To lighten he mood, he decided to change the topic to something more uplifting to make her forget about their situation. As smart as she was, her attention span relocated itself easily when something of interest came up. He began to talk to her about Hogwarts. The two got so caught up in their conversation that they failed to notice the man and large snake heading towards them.

* * *

The man looked at the small town, now reduced to ruins, and grinned. The cleansing had been very successful. For once, he was proud of his Death Eaters. There had been no slip-ups. Pity, though. He rather enjoyed the looks on their faces when they were under his Cruciatus curses. Oh well. He had gotten more than enough amusement while torturing that mudblood couple. The man began to stroll through what use to be the town, explaining what each pile of wreckage use to be to his slithering confidant.

"_And that use to be a broom shop, Nagini. I bumped into an adorable little girl of African descent in there. She seemed oddly familiar. I wonder what became of her."_

"_Probably dead. I'm hungry. Your morons succeeded in thoroughly charring every townsperson here. Much too crispy for my taste," _the large snake hissed. She was promised a feast, yet was only left with burnt morsels, and was very displeased.

The man chuckled at her grouching,_ "You act as If I can't just kill someone else for you. Just wait a bit longer. I heard a new muggle family moved close to the Riddle House. Now, we can celebrate this victory closer to home."_

"_Whatever you say. Just know that if I am not fed soon, you will have one less Death Eater following you."_

The man smirked at the thought of her eating one of his followers. They were expendable, true enough. But, he rather have as many as possible ready for these kinds of operations. Many purebloods fed up with muggles, mudbloods, and halfbloods had already pledged their loyalty to him, and the group was growing at an alarming rate. The more, the merrier.

"_It's a shame. That library was very beautiful," _he said as they walked by the remains of the library. He was speaking in all seriousness. The splendour of the library that once stood there rivalled Hogwarts's own library.

"_Do you hear that?" _Nagini said, suddenly very alert. The man listened closely, and could in fact, hear a faint hissing. Two distinct hisses. Upon listening a bit harder, he and Nagini recognized the hissing as parseltongue. The two looked at each other in disbelief. Another parselmouth was a rare thing. It was a hereditary gift from Salazar Slytherin himself, and as far as the man knew, he was the last living descendant. Nagini slithered on ahead, eager to find out who this possible heir or heirs were. It wasn't every day that she had the chance to communicate with someone new. They both silently crept towards the hisses, not wanting to be seen before evaluating this extraordinary possibility. After positioning themselves behind a large wall fragment, the both peeked out from the sides.

The man almost gasped out loud. _That girl! From the broom shop! _His mind, previously swimming with questions and ideas, became vacuous of any thoughts except for one. _How? _He took a good look at her. She seemed to have been caught up in the chaos that his group had caused, and for some reason, his heart (what was left of it) felt like it had been wrung. Her clothes were covered in dirt and ash, and her little face was covered in tiny cuts. She must have fallen. Then, his eyes widened as he took note of her left foot. Right on her heel was a large, bloody, and untreated gash. _Poor girl. _She was not alone, for on her head lay a podgy snake with…little arms and legs? A lizard of some sort? Her reptilian friend appeared to be trying to take her mind off her condition by keeping her amused and giggling. He watched the girl pull a few photos out of her bag and initiated a conversation about the people in the photos. Something about "making them proud". The man had so many questions for her, and his concern for her heel became unbearable. He slowly came out from his hiding space, pushing Nagini back behind the wall fragment. He didn't want the girl to soil herself at the sight of the large snake.

"Are you alright?" The girl and lizard jumped at the sound of human speech, for they had been solely hissing at each other for nearly an hour. The lizard atop the girl's head took as much of a defensive stance as a fat lizard could, flicking his blue tongue out at an alarming rate. The girl however, just stared intently at the man with her violet eyes.

"You're the man from the broom shop! Hi!" She then smiled at him. "Nice to see you, again. Thank you for picking me up when I fell. Could you maybe help me, again? My foot…I don't know how to fix it."

He looked at her foot, then back to her face. He had never been very adept with healing spells since his pastimes only included torturing and killing people. But, she really needed the help, and there was a chance they were related. With two heirs of Slytherin, his reign would be even more unstoppable than it already was. "I couldn't help but notice that you are a parselmouth."

"A parselmouse? What's that?"

"No, a parselMOUTH. You can talk to serpent-like creatures. I can, too."

The girl was surprised. No one else that she knew seemed to be able to talk to animals.

He finally cast a successful healing spell to somewhat mend her bone and close up the gash. She would still need a few potions for things to be complete, but at least now the bone was together and her wound wasn't exposed.

"Thank you so much, Mister-"

"Tom," he answered.

The girl's mind began to wander, "Mum said that I had a brother named Tom Mar-marlovololovo. But, she told me that he died a long time ago with his papa."

The man cautiously asked, "Marvolo?"

"Yeah! I could never say his name right. How'd you know how to say it?" she asked curiously.

The man ignored her question, "Who are you parents, child?"

"My papa's name was Charles Sarpong." _So, she was the orphan in the news a couple of years ago, but that must mean, _"And my mum's name was Merope. But, they died," she exclaimed crestfallenly. "Here they are." She showed him the photos she was clutching. The man had never actually seen his mother before, except for the time when he went to "visit" his uncle and noticed a few dusty family portraits. The woman in the portraits looked exactly like the woman in her photos, albeit with a few grey hairs. This little girl had to be his sister. They were both parselmouths, which was already enough to say that they were in some way related, and apparently had the same mother.

After about twenty minutes of them both trading knowledge about their mother, the two came to the agreement that they were in fact, half siblings.

"I can't believe I have a brother!"

_I can't believe that wretched woman left me at that muggle infested orphanage and had another baby in her fifties. That is disgusting. _He looked at the little girl's happy face. _But, I'm glad she left me with a sibling. And Merlin, I'm more than relieved to see that she looks nothing like our homely mother did. _

"We must go. Your foot needs proper care, and I unfortunately, cannot do more than this." He reached for the girl, when the lizard jumped out and nipped at his finger.

The lizard, whom he learned was named Apep, glared at him, _"I'll be keeping a close eye on you. Hurt her, and you'll be sorry," _he warned.

The man held in a derisive snort and nodded. He then, picked the girl up in his arms. "So, you agree to stay with me, your brother?"

"Of course! But, can I maybe send an owl to the orphanage to let them know that I'm ok?" How could he say no to that face?

"Yes, that should be fine," he said. He smiled. Things were sure to change at the Riddle House.

**A****/N: Gentle reviews are always welcomed! Thank you for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4: Christmas Eve

**A/N: Hey there! I hope everyone is doing alright. Oh! FYI, My word processor uses a British English dictionary, so some of the spelling for a few words are a little different. My apologies for those that aren't use to it**

Chapter 4: Christmas Eve

Tom arrived with Rosette at the Riddle House around four in the afternoon. He stood outside and looked at his house with apprehension. The dilapidated house was hardly suitable for a normal human being, let alone a little girl. Had he known that he'd have company over that he wasn't going to murder, he would have made the Death Eaters make the place look more presentable.

"You'll have to excuse the run-down look…I'm still thinking of ways to fix it up," he lied, knowing that this house was never in his priority list. He could at least fix up a couple of rooms to make her feel more comfortable. "I'll make sure you have a bedroom, bathroom, and study aimed to your liking within a few minutes."

All she did was smile and nod, still overly excited about having a sibling. Tom knew she would hightail it out of here if she knew that he was behind the destruction of Kingsbridge. He made a mental note to _**Obliviate **_her and modify her memories of that afternoon as soon as possible.

As they entered the house, Tom could hear the voices of the Death Eaters in the main room. He successfully and quickly invaded their minds and told them to be quiet and make themselves scarce for the next few days. They were more than happy to take the cue to leave.

Tom carried Rosette up the stairs and stood in front of three doors on the right side of the floor. "Let's get your bedroom in order first. What's your favourite colour?"

"Dark green!" she replied happily. Tom had never felt so proud of someone in his entire life. _A true Slytherin. _He tapped his wand on the middle door and the old door changed from a brownish grey to a green so dark, it was almost black. "Ooo!" she squealed.

He told her to close her eyes for a moment. When she did, he opened the door to the new bedroom and gently sat her on the large, green canopy bed. He then told her it was ok to open them. When she did, he had feared he had done something wrong because she started to cry.

"Rosette? I'm sorry! For whatever I did! Please don't cry? I can redo it!" he said full of worry as he took out his wand.

Rosette dried her eyes and gave him a small smile, "No, it's just- This is what my room looked like when papa and mummy were still alive. It's so perfect. Thank you, Tom."

Relieved, he nodded and began on her bathroom and study. They were also decorated with a dark green theme. Her quarters absolutely screamed Slytherin Princess, which she was. Just as he exited the study, he saw a long scaly tail slither into Rosette's bedroom. He was instantly filled with panic. _Nagini, if you eat her, so help me- _But, the site that greeted him was far from what he expected. There on the ground lay Nagini, circled around a smiling Rosette with a sleepy Apep on her head.

"Tom! You never told me about Nagini! She's such a beautiful snake!" the girl gushed as she gently petted the large snake. Nagini looked absolutely content.

"You've had a long day. Why don't you and Apep take a quick nap?" he suggested.

Rosette did indeed feel a little tired. Today's events left her feeling drained and a nap sounded great right then. She agreed to sleep for a bit while Tom took care of some business. She and the lizard quickly fell asleep. Tom quietly walked over to the bed and took a peek into her mind at what she had witnessed that day. Pondering to himself, pulled out his wand. He decided that it would be best to erase their memories of the Death Eaters and replace them with a fake memory of him swooping in to save the day and adopting her on the spot. He also erased the memory of her asking to owl the orphanage. That would just ruin things.

* * *

After getting settled, Tom felt that it would be a good idea for the two of them to get better acquainted with eat other. He quickly tidied up the rest of the house to make it look presentable before she came bounding down the stairs. He had conjured up two couches, figuring she would sit across from him, due to them just meeting earlier that day. But lo and behold, she plopped her tiny self right next to him.

"A-ah ok," he began, initially startled by her boldness, "I guess we have a lot to talk about, right? We know that we had the same mother, but that's it. So, why don't we talk about ourselves for a bit?" He waited for her affirmation. She simply nodded and smiled. "Right, then…I guess I'll start first. Well, my name is Tom-". For someone that had no problem with slaughtering humans, Tom sure was uncharacteristically nervous and careful of what he told Rosette. For some reason, he didn't want her to not like him. It was odd. Usually, he could care less about what others thought about him. He would just kill them anyway, but she was different. "Tom Marvolo…" He chose not to reveal his last name just yet. Just in case she happen to find a _Daily Prophet _with "Tom Riddle" printed in it before he was ready to tell her everything.

"I grew up in a muggle orphanage because our mother decided that going to wizard hospital to have me would have been too much work. I was told that she left a bloody mess and probably died after she left. I guess that wasn't the case. So, I stayed in the filthy place with the rest of the muggle larvae until I was old enough to go to Hogwarts." Rosette could tell that her brother maybe, just maybe had an aversion to muggles.

"Oh! Can you tell me about when you were at Hogwarts?" she asked eagerly. Hearing what school would be like from someone that actually went would finally satisfy her curiosity. Tom scrunched his face at this. He had been an undercover terror while in school, opening the Chamber of Secrets, murdering his father and his grandparents, and harming a few students.

"Hmm…Well I was a Slytherin. I had a great time. Class wasn't very hard..." He continued to tell her about his school days, being very careful and leaving out pretty much everything interesting.

Rosette's face fell while listening to Tom's bland recount of his school days. Utter disappointment took over by the time he finished talking.

"Tom, that was boring. I hope my days are better than yours, or else I'll be really upset. I guess it's my turn! Well, I was born, and I lived with my papa and mum. My papa was a Ghanaian wizard. Uh...he didn't go to Hogwarts. He went to some all boys' school in Nice, France. Then he moved to the U.K. and met mum, and they had me in Kingsbridge! I was an only child so I usually got what I wanted, but I never really wanted much." Rosette recapped her short childhood with her parents in full detail. Her life sounded very nice, but he was confused as to why her parents killed each other, so he decided to ask. "Because mum said she was bored with us and wanted to start a new life without us," she frowned, remembering the moment that her parents died, "I didn't know she didn't like us anymore. We didn't mean to upset her. She told papa that she was going to kill me after she killed him and then she was going to leave because we were tying her down. Papa and I never cast a binding spells on her, so I don't know what she was talking about, but it makes me sad," she said as she started to cry. Tom for once, was ashamed of the type of person that his mother was. _So I've murdered a few people. Whatever. This however, is terrible. Our own mother. _Tom snapped out of his hypocritical thoughts, seeing that Rosette was crying her eyes out. He had never comforted a person before but she was in dire need of comfort, so he awkwardly pulled her into a gentle hug and held her for what seemed like an hour.

Rosette was soon back to her cheery self, badgering Tom for his lack of Christmas décor.

"It's Christmas Eve and you don't even have a tree! You are failing miserably at Christmas-ing!" she exclaimed are she wandlessly conjured a small colour-changing tree. "There! That's much better!"

Meanwhile, Tom was flabbergasted at her display of wandless magic. She had conjured a tree without words or a wand, and even got it to change colours.

"Rosette?"

"Hmm?"

"Did your parents teach you wandless magic?" He thought that was surely the only way she could have learned.

"Nope! I learned it on my own. It's easy! Can't you do it, too?"

"Ah, yes but It gives me a headache so I choose not to," he lied. He was embarrassed, being outdone by a seven year old. But even advanced wizards and witches had difficulty performing wandless conjurations, WITH words. _What an extraordinary child_. He looked back up to see her flicking at the tree, creating little sparkles wherever they landed. He watched as she continued to decorate the tree for a while.

"Do I need to add anything else? I feel like it's missing something," she frowned. Something was off. As heavily decorated as the tree was, it still didn't feel like the one at the orphanage.

"Perhaps," Tom gently picked her up and held her close to the tree, "It's missing a star? I don't have much experience in the matter, but Christmas trees usually have something on top, am I correct?"

"Oh! Yeah!" She pointed to the top of the tree, making a golden star appear out of thin air, and causing Tom to frown at her choice in colour.

"Gold? Are you sure?" he asked.

She giggled, knowing full well why he was questioning the colour of the star. "Yes, I'm sure."

Tom sighed, knowing that arguing would be silly. He decided to let the star be, for arguing over the colour would not be worth ruining the evening. Tom had spent Christmas alone for the majority of his life. In fact, to him, Christmas was just another day. He had no idea why people bothered to spend their time covering the town with blinding lights, snogging under ugly little berries, wearing hideous sweaters, being disgustingly civil with everyone…It never made any sense. He was often called a "Scrooge" (whatever that was) by the other students while he stayed at school during the Christmas break, just because he refused to participate in any activity they suggested, especially that "Secret Santa" thing he accidentally agreed to once. Spend money on something to give to a random person? And then receive some random gift in return that he thought was of lesser value? No. If he gave someone a bag of dried pixies, he expected something of equal value in return, like a couple of dragon scales. Not a bloody pair of extremely uncomfortable wool socks with a matching pair of equally uncomfortable undies. The entire idea of the holidays meant nothing to him, up until now. For in front of him stood a little girl, beaming at her tree that she decorated. Happy because she would finally be able to have Christmas with a family member again. Was this what he had been missing all this time?

Tom suddenly realized something. Presents. Oh Merlin, he didn't have any presents for her. Children loved presents, right? Then another thought hit him. _Forget the presents! There hasn't been any food in this house for ages! Wait, I have ham sandwiches… that's what little girls like, I think. I'll have to send one of them to the store -_

His thoughts were interrupted by Rosette's giggles coming from the kitchen. "You're right! Nothing but sandwiches! Tom, you can get sick if you only eat one thing all the time. And as for presents," she came back into the room and grabbed his hand, pulling so he would sit against the tree. She then tapped the top of his head, making several silver bows appear on his head, "Having a brother is the only present I need," hugging him tightly.

Two emotions infiltrated his core. One was tremendous stupefaction. _She's a Legilimens?! At such a young age?! _He would, without a doubt, need to work on his Occlumency to keep her from his…less than child-friendly thoughts. The other emotion was something new. He felt warmth in his chest that was both scary and comforting. _What is this? _Tom slowly wrapped his arms around her. She was so little, so warm, and not afraid of him. What would she think of him after she learns who he was and what he did? He didn't want her to know about his life by anyone else's mouth but his own. _I'll tell her one day. But, today I want to keep being her present. _

After listening to her babble on about jelly beans, Apep, and a weird treat called a "Twinkie", Tom decided that it was time to shut her up with some sandwiches. Good thing she liked ham. He was surprised at how much she ate. _She must not have eaten all day._ Sometime, after nearly choking because she tried to talk and eat, Rosette suggested another Christmas activity.

"Carols?" he shouted incredulously. _The Dark Lord, Voldemort, does not sing! _

"Yes! We haaaave to sing them! Please? Please? Pleeeaasse?" He feared if her eyes got any wider, they would roll out of her head. _The Dark Lord will sing this evening, then. _

Tom actually enjoyed the silly little songs, especially the "Rudolph" one. But, apparently he could not sing very well. Rosette made it very clear that he sounded like what rotten milk would sound like if it could "bark", as she put it. In retaliation, Tom waited until she started singing to point his wand at their glasses of water and shatter them, blaming it on her "off-key, cat being stabbed with a quill" singing.

The two joked and laughed until eleven p.m. Rosette had fallen asleep with a sandwich hanging out of her mouth. When Tom tried to remove the soggy sandwich, she stirred and sleepily batted him away, saying that she was still eating it and was only stopping to take a break.

"Likely story," he chuckled. After asking her over and over, he finally got her to give up on the sandwich and carried her to bed.

"Hmm…I'll have to get her things to wear. I'll just send a witch out to do it. The last thing I need is for people to see me buying little girl's underwear. I'm a Dark Lord, not paedophile," he muttered

He placed her in her bed next to her sleeping lizard, who had probably been asleep for hours already. _Lazy thing_. He looked at Rosette one last time before closing the door. "Good night, Little Sister."

* * *

Tom went to the room where he held meetings and summoned five of his followers around midnight. There were things that needed to be taken care of before Rosette woke up. When the five Death Eaters appeared, Tom went back to his Voldemort self.

"There are some things I need to have done by tomorrow morning. First, I need my kitchen fully stocked with food, for there are two new residents of the Riddle House. I will not yet divulge their identities, but just know when I introduce her, she will be treated with the utmost respect," he was surprised to see them paying such attention to him. No, staring at him. He continued, until he heard one of them giggle. He turned around to see one of the newer recruits horribly trying to shake any evidence of him giggling earlier. The other four quickly scooted away from him, knowing things would not turn out well for him.

"Kindly explain to me what you find so funny," Tom commanded icily.

Unfortunately, the thing that recruit thought was so funny were the bows that Tom had forgotten about in his hair. Tom figured it out and groaned quietly, but did not remove them. Instead, he sent a well-aimed _**Crucio **_at the recruit's chest and continued with his instructions, daring the other four to even think about being amused at the sight of the bows. He told them that they also needed to get a junior potions lab station, high levelled tomes, and a few teddy bears so he could decide which one to give her. He then told the two female Death Eaters present that he needed a full wardrobe of simple but pleasant clothing.

Looking down at the recruit, he realized that he had "forgotten" to end the curse. The bloke was beginning to froth at the mouth. Tom lifted the curse and told them all to get out of his sight. He expected them to acquire everything by six in the morning. He decided to go to the living room and sit on the couch. Nagini slithered into the room as well and made her way onto the other couch.

"_You failed to bring me a meal, so I was forced to eat a cat that got too close," _she grumbled. Tom merely shrugged his shoulders, still thinking about everything that transpired that day.

He turned to face her, _"What do you think of her?"_

"_She is a very nice child, and already so powerful. But, like I said, she is nice. Have you thought about how you plan on telling her that you kill for fun? I doubt she will want to have anything to do with this." _

"_I fear you are correct. But, I could care less if she joins or not. As long as I remain "Brother" to her. And I don't just kill for fun. It's to make the world a better and cleaner place."_

They both sat in silence for a long time until Nagini spoke again.

"_There is no doubt that you two share the same blood. You both smell almost the same as each other, though she smells slightly of roses, while you just slightly smell...bad," she snickered. _

**A/N: Thanks again for reading! :D Feel free to favourite, follow, and review.**


	6. Chapter 5: Their First Christmas

**A/N: Hello! I'm sorry if this took too long to be published. I just moved into my dorm and started class in college. I was so paranoid about the first week and didn't get a chance to type. But now, I THINK I know where all of my classes are and when I have free time! Also, Thanks to for reviewing! And now, Tada! Chapter 5!**

Chapter 5: Their First Christmas

The Death Eaters had successfully completed the tasks that they were given in a timely manner, returning before four-thirty in the morning. Tom was waiting for them when they arrived. They gently set the requested items on the floor in front of him, awaiting his approval. Sadly, the new recruit still hadn't learned from his mistake a few hours earlier.

"Merry Christmas, My Lo-"

"_**Crucio!**_ Did I give you permission to speak? You seem to enjoy stepping out of line. I would suggest that you stop, but this is entertaining. Anyway," Tom started, lifting the curse and walking to the other Death Eaters, "You four have done well. Very well. She will love these-"

"She, My lord?"

Tom sighed and slowly turned to face the stupid man still lying on the floor.

"Why? It's not like I need practice torturing people," he sneered, making his way to the recruit, "But, Why. Do. You. Not. Learn. From. Your. Mistakes?" he said, punctuating every word with a kick the recruit's ribcage. _He will be dead within a week's time, _the others thought to themselves. Again, Tom walked away from the whimpering recruit.

"Damn it! You made me forget what I was going to say!" Tom finally said after pacing around the room for a moment. He turned around and glared, effectively causing the recruit to soil himself, thoroughly. "Never mind. Just make this look presentable and leave."

The other four Death Eaters quickly set up the gifts and left. The poor recruit, however, was still in shock and was unable to move from his puddle of urine on the floor.

Tom rolled his eyes at the pathetic sight. "Just leave within five minutes. And clean up this mess. Today is Christmas, so I won't kill you. I have more important matters to attend to."

Tom made his way up the stairs and to Rosette's side of the floor. He opened her door and peeked in to find her still sleeping in a rather odd position. Somehow, she migrated her entire body to the foot of the bed in her sleep. Her silver curls were dishevelled and a few even ended up in her open mouth, saturated in drool. Her lizard was sleeping on the pillow where her head should have been. _This is rather adorable, _Tom sighed. It was only five in the morning, and after yesterday's event, she would surely sleep for much longer. He decided to wait downstairs until then.

Rosette woke up, spitting her hair out of her mouth around nine in the morning. At first, she was confused, not remembering where she was. Then it all clicked and she smiled. _I'm living with Brother, now. And today is Christmas! _She quickly jumped out of bed, momentarily startling Apep before he promptly went back to sleep. Not wanting to singe her brother's eyebrows off with her morning breath, she decided to brush her teeth before going downstairs. Tom could hear her moving about from where he sat in the living room. He chuckled at the sound of her little bare feet hastily moving from her room to her bathroom, and back to her room again. Five minutes later, Tom was greeted with the sight of his little sister, still in her clothing from yesterday and hair sticking up in all directions, but smiling so brightly. At him. This was something Tom would have to get used to. No one smiled at him.

"Merry Christmas, Tom!" she said bouncing toward him. She suddenly jumped at him with her arms up to give him a hug. Startled, Tom almost dropped her, not knowing anything about hugs. He merely stood there, dumbfounded, with his arms wrapped around her.

"Uh…Merry Christmas to you too, Rosette. Did you sleep well?" he finally got out.

"Yes! The bed was so comfy! I didn't really use my-"

"Pillow?" he smirked.

Rosette giggled, "How'd you know?"

He grinned in response and set her back on the ground gently, "Magic. Hey, I have some gifts for you, that is, if you would like them," he said, pointing at large mass of gifts in the corner of room. The look on Rosette's face was one that he would give his soul to see every day.

"All of these?" she squealed. He had given her even more than what her parents had given her when they were alive.

Tom nodded, "Go on. Start opening them."

Rosette hugged his waist tightly and began to tear up.

Tom panicked. "I can take them back if you don't like them! Please, don't cry-"

"Brother! Stop apologising! You're so silly. I'm not sad. I just feel so happy to be able to celebrate Christmas with family, again. Thank you for everything," she sniffled, "But, I didn't get you anything, and now I feel bad."

"Nonsense, silly Sister. YOU are my present. You being happy is enough for me. Now, stop snotting on my hip and go open those presents."

He peeled Rosette off of his side and nudged her towards the pile. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the pile, too. She decided that this was a two person job. They spent the rest of the morning going through all the gifts and organising them.

"How am I going to wear all of these?!" Rosette asked, looking at all the new clothes she received. "I'll have to change clothes like, four times a day!"

"We can just put some away for later. All we have to do is resize them if you grow. No big deal," Tom laughed as he helped her put the clothes away. It was true. The female Death Eaters went above and beyond with his sister's new wardrobe. He might actually have to thank them. Maybe a voucher for one free escape from a Cruciatus Curse. Next, they set up a potions lab and makeshift library in her study nice enough to make a Ravenclaw green with envy. The potions lab came with a copper cauldron and a trunk full of ingredients that were magically shrunken and organised to save space. The library was nothing more than a single bookcase, but it was filled with more tomes and stories than Rosette thought possible. No matter how many books she added to the shelf, there was always room for one more.

"Cool," she whispered.

After they had finished arranging the study, Tom brought Rosette downstairs for the last present. He shyly handed her a gift that was terribly hand wrapped in green gift wrap by your's truly.

"What's this? Another present? Tom-"

"No. I don't want to hear it. You be quiet and accept my gift," he demanded with feigned sternness. Rosette laughed at her brother's faux serious face and began to open the gift. She spent a minute or two trying to remove the poorly placed tape and wrapping before she gave up and lightly tapped the gift with her finger. The wrappings instantly fell off, revealing a little brown teddy bear adorned with a silver bow around its neck.

"Oh Tom! It's so adorable! This is for me?!" she asked excitedly.

Tom chuckled, "Well, of course, silly child. Who else would it be for? Certainly not for me."

Rosette hugged the bear tightly. "Oh thank you so much! Oh Tom, I feel so terrible. You've gotten all of these things for me on such a short notice, and I haven't gotten you a single thing. What kind of a sister am-"

Tom pinched her mouth closed with two of his fingers.

"Rosette. When will you understand that you being here is enough for me? I never dreamed that I would find someone kin to me, because it seemed so impossible. But, here you are. And I'm," he paused, thinking about how he felt and how much he changed on the inside, "Happy. I'm happy. So, all that I give you will never be able to repay my debt to you." Tom was shocked by his own words but knew that they were the absolute truth. He did owe her.

* * *

The two spent the rest of the day by the fireplace with books, marshmallows, and hot chocolate. Tom watched as Rosette levitated the marshmallows into the fire. He was confused as to why she waited until they were on fire to pull them out of the fire, and even more confused as to why she wanted to eat the burnt product. Rosette felt Tom's eyes on her and turned to look at him.

"You wah uhn?" she asked him with her cheeks full of marshmallow. She gave him the bag of marshmallows. He shrugged, grabbed the bag, and took his wand out.

"So, I just put it in the fire?"

"Yeah!"

So, Tom took a marshmallow out of the bag and pointed his wand at it. He levitated it out of the bag and moved close enough to where the flames could barely touch it. He turned to look at Rosette for further instruction, only to be shocked by her looking at him with disapproval.

"What?" he asked, slightly taken aback. What could he have possibly done to make her look at him like that?

Rosette grabbed his wand hand and pushed it forward a bit, making his marshmallow fly into fire and burst into flames. Then, when the marshmallow was completely black, she pulled his arm back, pulling the marshmallow out, too.

"There!" she exclaimed, "It's done!"

Tom stared at what use to be a fluffy, white puff of sugar, now a dark, crispy mass of unknown.

"What was I doing wrong the first time?" wondering how this was any better than what he was doing. It looked inedible as far as he knew. It was burnt.

"You have to throw into the fire or it won't be right! Now, try it!"

He looked at the result of Rosette's "help" and inwardly cringed. This mass was on fire a second ago…and now, it's somehow safe to eat? He prepared to take a nibble when Rosette grunted in disapproval.

"No, the entire thing. You can't just bite off a tiny bit."

_She's so demanding. Who did she get that from? _

So, Tom yielded and swiftly shoved the burnt object into his mouth. He was surprised to find out that only the outside was crisp, while the inside became molten but still remained delightfully edible. From that point on, the two continued their feast of marshmallows until the bag was empty.

Ultimately, their day consisted of lazing around the house, eating, and talking to each other about anything that came to mind. Sometime during the wee hours of the morning, Tom managed to "buy" groceries. It didn't matter. There was food in the kitchen. He didn't really know what a Christmas dinner consisted of, so he decided to just get everything, hence the marshmallows. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to cook. _There are plenty of ham sandwiches left… _Rosette didn't care. Her brother had given her the best Christmas ever, so holiday ham sandwiches weren't an issue.

Around ten at night, Tom roused from a much needed power nap. He enjoyed his time with Rosette, but that didn't mean that she wasn't tiring. Not in a bad way, though. She was just very stimulating. He sat up from the couch and scanned the room for Rosette. He found her on the other couch, face completely covered by one of her new books.

"Rosette?"

She moved the book down, revealing her chocolaty covered face.

"How in the world did you get chocolate in your eyebrows?" he asked.

She simply shrugged and giggled.

"Go wash up and get ready for bed, silly child," he laughed.

Rosette nodded and hopped off of the couch. She almost made it to the stairs, when she stopped suddenly and turned around. She ran to Tom and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you so much for today, Brother. This has been the best day I've ever had in such a long time. You're the best brother ever!" she said before giving him a small kiss on the cheek. After that, she ran up the stairs, leaving Tom unable to process any thoughts on the couch where he sat.

"She's so sweet," he whispered.

* * *

Not everyone's Christmas was as new and wonderful as Tom's. A black haired boy listened from his room to the sound of his father striking his mother. He felt so powerless. His mother could easily end things and not have to worry anymore. She was very capable of that. They could say that he had had a heart attack or something. The muggle police would never know what had really happened. But, she continued to let him put his hands on her. Was this what happened when you loved someone? Are you completely powerless to defend yourself? Would Lily every use his love for her against him? They were going to get married and be happy, right? He couldn't see it any other way. The boy cringed again as a particularly strong slap echoed throughout the small house. He began to cry. _I'm turning eleven next month._ _Soon, I'll be going to Hogwarts. I'll learn how to use my magic and defend us both from him. _

**A/N: :D Thanks for reading! Favourite, Follow, and Review!**


	7. Chapter 6: An Evening

**A/N: Hi Hi! :[ very sorry about this short and late chapter. During this glorious month I started college, my grandpa had a stroke, my dog was attacked by a fox, and I found out that I was going deaf in one ear due to a tumour! I was having trouble being able to just sit down and type because I experienced some serious Vertigo, so I decided to just make a quick mini chapter.**

Chapter 6: An Evening

"Tom! Asparagus is gross! Stop cooking it!"

"No, you need to eat vegetables. They're good for you," Tom replied as he turned the asparagus over in the skillet. After a couple of days of practice, he had finally gotten the hang of cooking.

"They taste like butt," Rosette huffed unhappily.

Tom smirked, "How do you know what butt taste like?"

"There's a jellybean of that flavour. It's bad. Don't ever try it," she answered. She went into the fridge to pour herself a cup of chocolate milk. She would need it to wash down the taste of "butt".

"There we are! All finished!" Tom exclaimed as he fixed Rosette's plate. Along with the asparagus, he had made her bratwurst and macaroni as compensation. Rosette eyed the asparagus as Tom set her plate down. Tom rolled his eyes as she promptly laid her napkin over the asparagus and began to eat her other options. _Ok, I won't be buying asparagus again. _

After dinner, the two went to the living room. They had developed a routine in the few days that Rosette had begun to live there. Every night after dinner, Tom and Rosette rendezvoused in the living room to share the highlights of their day with each other.

"And THEN, the potion turned blue!" Rosette exclaimed. Tom had been away for most of the day overseeing a raid with a few Death Eaters, so he had no idea what his sister had been up to while he was gone. "-And then I added a unicorn hair and it turned every single colour possible for like, ten minutes! Oh, you should have seen it!"

Tom smiled at her, "I hope your lab is still in one piece…correct?"

"Of course! It was only a little mistake."

"What were you trying to make?" he asked.

Rosette smirked and looked away, "I dunno. I was just trying to be creative!"

The colour drained from Tom's face. _She's going to blow up the house while I'm gone one day…_

"I will not! I knew that it wasn't going to blow up. I just wanted to see some colours!" she pouted.

"I- how did you- I didn't even know you were in my mind! Stop that! It's intrusive and disturbing. I would _never _do that to someone." he said as Nagini slithered by, snickering at his huge lie. He shot the snake a glare before returning to Rosette, who was upset about the light scolding. Tom's heart sank as tears welled up in her eyes

"I'm s-sorry…" she sobbed. She didn't mean to intrude. It just happened.

Tom sighed, "No no, please don't cry. I didn't mean that. I'm just still getting use to your extraordinary aptitude in Legilimency. Now, stop crying and come here," he said, beckoning her towards him. She slid off of her couch and trudged over to his. He picked her up and set her on his knee.

"Would you like me to tell you about my day?" he asked.

She nodded quietly.

"Well," he started, remembering that she wasn't someone whom he wanted to divulge all of the terrible things he did that day, "I had a meeting with my… colleagues. We took a trip to a small town to make plans. We want to improve the quality of the town. We…asked a couple of wizards and witches that lived there what they thought of our plans. Some of them didn't really like our idea, but we were able to convince them."

"How are you gonna improve the quality?"

Tom paused for a moment. _I don't want to tell her anything just yet. _"Mmh, well… It's a surprise." he said, and left it at that. Rosette decided that the conversation was over and took over.

"We should play a game! Wizard chess?" she asked her brother.

Tom hadn't played a game of wizard chess in a long time, but he remembered the basics. "Alright, you're on."

Rosette conjured up a simple playing board and chess pieces.

* * *

"I win, again!" she squealed. They were on their 14th game of chess. To Tom, it didn't even feel like a game anymore. _More like 'See how badly I can slaughter my brother in a game of chess'_. It took everything in his being to not make the board burst into flames. _She's such a natural at this game, _he thought as he ran his fingers through his dark hair and sighed.

"Ok, no more. You keep mercilessly beating me, and I don't understand how," he muttered, waving his wand at the board to make it disappear.

Rosette giggled, "You just need more practice! If you play more, you can maybe win against Apep!"

Tom groaned loudly, "Even the bloody lizard is better than me?!" He then, dramatically, fell face-first onto the couch. Rosette, still laughing, walked over and climbed up to sit herself square on his back.

"It's ok brother. I still love you. Even though you are a terrible chess player. We can play something else next time."

She leaned forward to kiss the back of his head.

Tom almost let a tear fall. _How can someone be so sweet? _ "Thank you, Rosette. That means a lot to me."

When she didn't respond, Tom lifted his head to try and see what was going on. She had fallen asleep on his back. He hadn't noticed before, but it had gotten very late. He was in no rush to wake her peaceful form, so he let her be.

"I'll take her upstairs in an hour," he yawned.

It had gotten pretty late, and Rosette had not come to bed yet. Apep began to worry, so he made his way out of the room and down the stairs. When he peeked out from around the corner, he saw Rosette sleeping, sitting up, on top of an also sleeping Tom's back. He chuckled and went back upstairs.

**A/N: Thank you, Julie .fjad , for another review :)**


	8. Chapter 7: What's Done in the Dark…

**A/N: :D Yay! I've been feeling a lot better so I was able to squeeze this out of my brain between classes. :) Thank you to Julie. fjad for the encouragement, too!**

Chapter 7: What's Done in the Dark…

It was a very cold afternoon on January 9th. A blizzard had made its rounds a week ago, and the town was covered in snow. Tom watched as a silver fluff zoomed around. Back and forth it went about, flipping and flopping around in the snow.

"Aren't you cold? You've been out here for hours. And I made soup."

The silver fluff turned around and looked at her brother. She gave him a toothy grin. She had lost four teeth in the first two weeks that she had been with her brother. Rosette had to explain to the hysterical Tom that she was fine and this was normal. Since then, he had begun to make softer foods for his teeth-lacking sister.

Rosette ran inside and put her coat, gloves, and boots away before racing to the kitchen. He brother had outdone himself today with the stew. She could smell so many different and delicious things going on in that pot on the stove. She waited patiently as he got out two bowls from the cabinet and ladled a generous sized portion into each bowl.

"There we are. Alright, be careful. It's still very hot. Did you have fun in the snow?"

Tom waited for Rosette to respond. Despite his earlier warning, she still decided to shovel a large spoonful of soup into her mouth. He chuckled as she panicked and let the soup run out of her mouth back into the bowl.

"Ih wah okay," she said with her tongue still hanging out. She grabbed her tongue and cast a small cooling charm on it. She decided to do the same with the soup. "I made snow angels and built a snowman!"

Tom smiled at her. "Oh really? That sounds like fun"

The two talked for a long time as they ate their lunch.

* * *

"Happy birthday to me," the black haired boy sighed. He there was no point in leaving his room and had been sitting by the window for hours watching the snow fall. His father had probably forgotten about his birthday. It wouldn't really matter, either. His father cursed the black haired boy's existence any chance he got. His father would probably thrash him if he mentioned his birthday. His mother…she knew today was his birthday, but was probably too afraid to bring it up. She would just get another beating on top of the ones she usually got daily. The boy wished that Lily could play today, but she was in muggle primary school and her parents were taking her to see a movie afterward. Hours went by and he eventually moved from the window to his bed. It was only four in the afternoon but it he didn't really expect anything to happen. Just as he was about to close his eyes and go to sleep, he heard a faint knock on his door. It had to be his mother, because his father would have kicked the door down. Sure enough, his mother quietly walked in. The boy feigned sleep. He wasn't really in the mood to talk. His mother thought that he really was asleep and sighed crestfallenly. She set something on his nightstand, kissed his head, and promptly left in a hurry. When she closed the door, the boy opened his eyes again and looked at his nightstand. She had left him a small chocolate cupcake with green frosting and a little candle on top. He took the cupcake and noticed that she had set it on top of a letter. He took one good look at the seal on the envelope and almost shouted with joy. Thankfully he stopped himself before he did and ate his cupcake, full of content for the first time in months.

* * *

It was January 20th, and Tom finally realized that he had no idea when Rosette's birthday was. She was turning eight this year. He really wanted to ask, so he decided to find her and do so. He found her jumping from couch to couch in the living room. He caught her mid jump, causing her to shriek and giggle. He carried her over his shoulder around the house.

"Hey, Rosette? When is your birthday?" he asked as he walked into the foyer, poking her in the side every so often to get a squeal from her.

"January 30th!" she finally got out. She squirmed as Tom continued to tickle her mercilessly. "When is yours?" she asked through laughs.

"It was on December 31st."

Rosette stopped laughing instantly and wriggled free from Tom's grip, landing on the floor. "What?! That's already past! Why didn't you say anything!?"

Tom was startled by her apparent anger, "I-I…My birthday has never been important to me. It's never been celebrated, so I've never cared." He looked at her with apologetic eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, we can have a small party for the both of us."

Rosette pondered for a moment. Having a double party could be fun…

"Ok! But, next year, we're gonna celebrate your birthday on YOUR day of birth," she proclaimed as she ran off.

* * *

A few days later, Rosette was sitting her room with Apep. It was late at night and she had originally gone up to her room to sleep. That is, until she picked up one of her new Charms tome. She was a quarter of the way done with the book when she realized what time it was.

"It's nearly midnight, Apep." She turned to look at her friend, only to find him fast asleep, as usual. She huffed at him. "_Lazy Lizard_"

He woke up to snicker, before falling right back to sleep. Rosette was about to flick him on the tail, when she heard voices. Multiple ones. _Brother is having company over this late? _She was thinking to herself when she heard a loud growl. She looked around to see where it came from, only to hear the growl again. She stopped and laughed. It was her own stomach.

"Guess I better go and get a snack."

Rosette tiptoed down the stairs. She could still hear the other voices. They were coming from her brother's meeting room. She had only been in there once, but didn't enjoy it. The aura of the room seemed off, and it scared her. She didn't want to stay downstairs too long, so she quickly ran to the kitchen. There were plenty of things to choose from in the kitchen now that Tom constantly kept it stocked at 100%. Rosette finally settled on a chocolate muffin and bottle of water. She was about to leave the kitchen, when a hand grabbed her tightly by her hair.

"Looky a' wot we got here! Wot you think you're doing in here? You done broke in, thinkin' you can jus' take food?"

Rosette gasped and tried to turn to see who her attacker was. He was a tall man with dirty brown hair, brown eyes, a big nose, and ugly yellow teeth. He lifted her up by her hair, eliciting a cry from her.

"My my, ain't you a cute 'un. Lil' chocolate drop, eh? Wot do you suppose I do with you?" he muttered in her ear. His breath reeked of sardines and alcohol.

"Let go of me!" Rosette snarled. She tried to break free, but her flailing only made the man tighten his grip on her hair. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

The man snorted. "Ah! Now you're cryin'?" He began to drag her into the meeting room where the others were. Tom had not arrived from his errand yet, so they were waiting for him.

"Look! I found this gal in the kitchen," the man said proudly. The others circled around them. Rosette looked around wildly as the other people conversed and touched her.

"Very pretty"

"Look how little she is"

The man holding her by the hair let out a chortle. "I wonder if she can suck my di-"

The man never saw the green light heading towards him. The light hit him in the centre of his forehead, killing him instantly. The others backed away with haste, and Rosette, hair finally released, fell to the ground. She then, began to cry profusely.

"I'm in a terrible mood right now…" Tom said as red lights flew from his wand, hitting every Death Eater in the room. He walked over to Rosette, staring daggers at everyone he passed. "We will discuss things tomorrow. Leave. Now," he seethed.

He picked Rosette up in his arms and carried her to her room. She was still crying when they got to her room. Tom sat down on her bed with her still in his arms. He held her until she cried herself to sleep. His emotions were out of control. He felt pure rage and sadness for what had happened to Rosette. _How dare they touch her! Their filthy hands on her. Talking to about her like that. I should just kill them all. _In the middle of Tom's angry inner ranting, a thought came up. _Oh my god…I'm going to have to explain everything to her, now. All because of that sodding- _His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Rosette's light snoring. _At least she's sleeping well. _Tom wasn't going to leave her side for the rest of the night. He carefully positioned her on his chest and laid back against the headboard. He too, was soon fast asleep.

* * *

Rosette slowly opened her eyes. It was still early in the morning. She gripped tightly at her blanket, only to find that it wasn't her blanket she was gripping at all. _A shirt? _She looked up to see her brother still sleeping. _I guess I fell asleep on him. _She didn't want to wake him. She could tell he had been very tired from the dark circles under his eyes, looking especially dark against his pale skin. To keep herself occupied until Tom woke up, Rosette attempted to recite every spell she knew in her head alphabetically. She got all the way to _Protego _when she felt Tom stir. The first thing he saw when he opened his dark eyes were violet ones, calmly staring back at him.

"Good morning," he whispered timidly. Last night's events were still fresh on his mind, and he couldn't shake the feeling of guilt and responsibility over what had transpired.

"Good morning, Brother!" she replied cheerfully, completely throwing Tom off. Her next question made him want to vomit out of sheer anxiety. "Who were those people? Why were they in the house?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair with such angst. _I may as well start from the beginning._

"Ok...Well…So…" For the first time ever, Tom would have rather died. "They work for me…" He looked down to see Rosette's face contorting into one exhibiting the utmost betrayal.

"Tom, they're bad."

"I know-"

"Tom, they're bad."

"Yes, I know that…They're Death Eaters," he waited for her to put two and two together.

Things suddenly began to click for Rosette. "Tom…Riddle?"

He nodded.

She began to tear up. "You've killed people…"

Tom's heart sunk to depths lower than he thought possible. He had never felt remorse until now, and he didn't like the feeling. "Yes… I have. But, it's for a good cause. By birth right, Purebloods should be able to reign over this land, unhindered by muggles and halfbloods."

Rosette just stared at him, processing what her brother said. She had read bits and pieces of newspapers. She knew the magnitude of her brother's destruction. He was evil. He was Voldemort. She should hate him, but she could bring herself to do so. He was the only family she had left in this world. She loved Tom too much to even begin to hate him.

Tom began to fidget from her lack of reply. He was sure she would tell him that she hated his guts and would want nothing to do with him.

"Rosette, I-"

"Shut up," she commanded sharply. He stopped immediately and waited for her to speak. She took a deep breath and looked directly in his eyes. "You've done terrible things. Countless people have been killed by your order. You're probably the one responsible for Kingsbridge, too. You're a murderer," she paused. Tears streamed down her little cheeks. He was on the verge of crying himself. "You're a murderer," she repeated, "But… you're my brother first. My friend second, and a murderer third. I don't agree with what you're doing…but I won't hate you for it. You have you're reasons. As long as you continue to be my big brother above all, that's all that matters."

Tom couldn't breathe. He couldn't believe what she had just said. He finally came back to reality when he felt a tightening around his midsection. Rosette was hugging him. She wasn't running away. He wrapped his arms around her, for it was all he could do.

"Thank you, Rosette," he whispered.

**A/N: He's got such a soft spot for his little sister C: Favourites, Follows, and Reviews are appreciated! Until Next Time!**


	9. Chapter 8: It's a Celebration

**A/N: Whoaaa! Where has the time gone?! College is so time consuming! I'm sorry if I'm too slow with these updates. I'm really trying. C: New Reviews! I always enjoy reading them :D **

Chapter 8: It's a Celebration

"AACK!" Tom yelped at the sensation of something slamming against his back, waking him from his slumber.

"Happy shared-Birthday! Get up!"

He was still disoriented. The little voice shouted again.

"Tom! It's already ten! Get up!"

He could feel little fingers gently tugging on his hair. He turned over, causing the unknown creature to fall off of his back and onto the other side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and turned to see what had fallen. The first thing he saw was a mass of silvery curls that would need emergency detangling after breakfast. He managed a tired grin.

"Good morning, Rosette. Did you sleep well?" he asked as he sat up.

Rosette gave him a big smile. "I sure did! Apep was snoring, though. I didn't even know that reptiles could snore! What are we gonna do today?" She was very excited to hear about the day's schedule. Tom had postponed a raid, just so they could enjoy the day together.

He combed his hair through with his fingers and exhaled, "Let's see. There's a nice park I thought we could check out. Then we could come back home and make our own cake…if that's ok with you?" Tom was not an expert on "What Little Girls Like To Do On Their Birthdays"-ology, and he was afraid that Rosette would turn him down. He was relieved to see her smile grow even wider.

"That sounds like fun! Of course I want to do that! I'll get ready now!" She quickly jumped off of his bed and ran to her room.

"I'll attempt to domesticate your hair after breakfast!" he shouted after her.

* * *

"Ok, let's get this over with."

Rosette sat between Tom's legs as he prepared to try and style her hair. He learned very quickly that he could not use the same products on her hair that he used for his. Rosette had thoroughly grilled him for trying to use his normal shampoo on her hair a few nights ago. She said that she required hair products for "people of colour", as she put it.

"Oh!" he said as he opened one of the moisturizers. "I like the way this one smells. What is this? What is shea butter?"

"I dunno. But it makes my hair not be crispy and stuff."

"Crispy?"

"You know. When it's dry! Crispy!"

"Ah, I see. Well, here I go." He poured a generous amount into the palm of his hand and began working it into Rosette's hair. He was amazed by the immediate results. Her hair became less tangled and much more malleable. When it wasn't a bulk of coily chaos, her hair was quite beautiful. Her tendrils reminded him of starlight. He let the curls slip between his fingers in awe.

_They're so lovely. _Tom paused. He leaned forward to get a good look at Rosette's face, then leaned back again. Her enthralling violet eyes, her soft brown skin, her cute little face, her tiny body, and her wild hair. _Oh Merlin… _Until now, Tom only saw her as the adorable little sister of his. But, after taking a good look at her, he realized with horror that she would one day be a little girl no more. She was going to mature and become absolutely stunning. Absolutely stunning women attracted men. Tom did not like the idea of that. Heads would roll in the future. No one would ever be good enough for her in his eyes. _Hmm, she might not like me if I kill all of her suitors, though… She can marry a nice pureblood. Yes, then no one will have to die. _

"Hey! Are you done? I want to go to the park!"

He snapped out of his reverie and finished putting her hair into a puffy ponytail, letting a few curls fall in front of her face.

"Done. Now, get ready. We're leaving in five minutes," he told her, looking at his hands. They were still covered in the moisturizer. He shrugged and wiped it in his own hair before getting up to get ready.

Five minutes later, they were both standing at the door. Tom had to re-button Rosette's coat because she had missed a button and had ended up buttoning every one of them in the wrong hole. Once he was finished, the two of them stepped outside. The snowfall that winter had been relentless and there was at least half a meter of snow on the ground. It would be no problem for Tom to walk through, seeing as how he was a pretty tall man himself. However, to Tom, Rosette's height reminded him of an overgrown house elf. She was a very tiny child for being eight years old, and he often wondered if her growth had been stunted. Nagini had mentioned that she had eaten eight year olds that were Rosette's size. That left Tom at ease with the knowledge of other children being that size, and slightly disturbed at the thought of Nagini comparing his beloved little sister to her previous snacks.

He grabbed Rosette's mitten covered hand. "It will be quicker if we apparate instead of walk there."

Before she could even react, they had appeared next to a tree in the park. Tom laughed as Rosette stumbled around, still very dizzy from the sudden apparation. When she could finally stand straight, she shot him a feigned dirty look. This made Tom laugh even harder…until a snowball hit him right in the mouth. He looked up in surprise at the gleeful little girl. _The Dark Lord does NOT lose snowball fights! _He scooped up some snow and packed it together to make a rather large snowball. Rosette was still laughing and didn't notice until it was too late. The snowball hit her, making her stumble and fall on her bottom.

"Oh, it's on!" she shouted through her laughter.

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them plopped themselves down on the snowy ground, tuckered out from their exciting snowball fight.

"That last one you threw had a pebble in it, my dear sister…" Tom chided playfully, "Since you threw with an intent to kill, you have to wash dishes tomorrow night," he told her, poking her in her side and making her laugh. "On second thought, never mind. I'll do the dishes. You always leave food on the ones that you supposedly washed."

Rosette let out a fake gasp. "What?! Don't think of it as me leaving food on them. They're just…convenient leftovers. Available straight from the cabinet. You don't have to do any serving because they're already on the plates!

"Rosette, that's disgusting!" he laughed. He pulled out his wand and cast a warming charm, making the area around them dry and snow-free. Then, he conjured up a basket covered with a cloth. "I thought we could have a picnic out here. The cold weather can't stop us."

He spread the cloth out and began to empty the contents of the basket. A thermos full of hot chocolate, chicken noodle soup, Twinkies (which took him forever to find), and some tea for himself. The two ate together while chit chatting about whatever Rosette decided to change the topic to. They somehow ended up on the topic of going to Hogwarts.

"Are you gonna take me to Diagon Alley?" she asked him before taking a big gulp of her hot chocolate.

Tom gave her a confused look. "Of course…Why wouldn't I be taking you?"

"You DO realize who you are, right? If everyone sees Voldemort in public with a little girl, it might raise SOME level of alarm," she stated matter-of-factly.

Tom inwardly cringed when she referred to him as "Voldemort". It didn't sound right being said with her sweet little voice.

"I can just use a Polyjuice potion," he said plainly. He then stood up and brushed the snow off of him. "Come. Let's ice skate," he said and grabbed her hand, pulling her along.

The numerous blizzards and low temperatures that previously tore through the area left the lake at the park nice and solid. There were scratches indicating that many before them had opted to ice skating as well.

The two of them walked to the edge of the frozen lake where Tom quickly transfigured their boots into stylish and snug ice skates. He then, stepped onto the ice and skated towards the middle of the lake. Rosette watched him in astonishment. She had no idea that Tom could ice skate. He was tall and a little on the athletic side, but "Graceful" was not a word she would have ever thought to describe her brother with. Yet, here he was, moving on top of the ice as if he were only walking. She wanted to join him, too. The problem was, she had never ice skated before. But, Tom made it look so easy. How hard could it be?

Rosette took one step onto the ice and was surprised at how fast the ground and one's face could come in contact with each other. Tom stifled a laugh and skated over to her.

"That's an interesting technique you've come up with, my dear sister. Though, I'm almost one hundred percent certain that your feet are supposed to do the skating, not your face," he teased as he lifted her and helped her stay steady on her feet.

She spit her tongue out at him, "very funny. I didn't know."

"Here," he said, skating backwards while pulling her along. "It's easy."

Rosette had no choice but to take uneasy step, seeing as how she was being dragged.

"Oh come on. You slide through the hallways in your socks all the time. It's nearly the same thing. One foot at a time. Slide. Yes! Like that! Keep on. Take your time."

They had skated hand in hand to the centre of the lake before Rosette was even aware. Tom watched her determined little face as she skated wobbly with him. _She looks so serious. It's adorable. _Tom was too busy admiring his little sister to see the uneven patch of ice before him. His skates lost control on top of the bumpy area and caused him to lose his footing. Rosette managed to yank her hand out of his before she went down with him. She watched as he got better acquainted with the ice, snickering as she slowly slid away.

"Falling runs in the family!" she teased as he grumbled about cursing the entire lake for making a fool out of him. He looked up to see Rosette laughing and, more importantly, skating on her own.

"Well, look at you. Skating all on your own now, eh? You seemed to have moved out of the way just in time…" he said, pushing himself up, just to be promptly knocked down again by the force of Rosette's little boy colliding with his.

She was laughing hysterically. "It's not as bad when you have something or someone to fall on!"

* * *

Tom sighed when he opened the door and the warmth of the indoors hit him. Rosette scurried past him and through the door, kicking her boots off and shedding her coat before running straight to the kitchen.

"Hurry up! We have to make a cake! You proooooomised!"

"Let me actually get through the door first. Slow down. We have plenty of time. You didn't even take off your mittens, yet. Get back in here, you silly child."

Tom pulled her mittens off and put them away. He walked into the kitchen where Rosette had already begun to levitate ingredients from the cabinets and onto the counters. He narrowly avoided a bag of flour that zoomed by his head and smiled at her eagerness.

He grabbed one of the eggs that she had circling around his head. "Let's get down to business. No, the chocolate goes in last."

Tom and Rosette began adding the ingredients to the mixing bowl one by one. They weren't the cleanest bakers in the world. Egg shells were scattered and there was no part on the counter that the flour had not reached. Tom looked at Rosette, knowing that there was an abundant amount of flour in her hair. _Probably enough to make another cake. _But, Tom was not spotless either. He already knew that his eyebrows were caked with chocolate and sugar. How it got there? He didn't know, nor did he care. He would never admit it, but he, the Dark Lord, was having a lot of fun doing familial activities with Rosette.

He must have looked too lost in his thoughts, because Rosette called him two times and he didn't respond. She then took it upon herself to bring him back into reality by flicking a substantial wad of batter at him. _Damn, her aim is good! _Tom wiped the batter off of his nose and rubbed it across her eyebrows, making sure to give her a prominent unibrow.

"Hey!"

"-Is for horses," he returned quickly.

Rosette threw an egg shell at Tom's head, which was the beginning of the end for the poor kitchen.

The two of them looked at each other after placing the cake in the oven. They both swore they had more of the cake on them than the actual cake did.

"How about we go and get washed up and heat up some left overs before our cake finishes?" he suggested as he herded Rosette up the stairs. She avidly agreed, wanting to wash away her dessert like shell as soon as possible. Everything was starting to harden, making her skin feel stiff and icky. "And, make sure you get behind your ears, too. And under your arms. And in your nose. And between your toes. And the back of your knees. And-"

"Geeeeez Tom! I'll be sure to **_Scourgify_** every crevice!" she joked as she ran up the stairs ahead of him. He smiled and went into his own room to wash up. Nagini was resting under his bed when he walked in. She opened one eye and watched him pull out pyjama pants and a t-shirt.

"_Have fun today, O' Dark One?" _she said mockingly

Tom jumped, realising that he was not alone. _"Yes, yes I did, you overgrown worm," _he retorted, picking up on her jeering undertone.

"_You have such a soft spot for her. I'm surprised she stay, even though she knows who you really are. That sure is a lot of love that you don't deserve."_

"_Jealous?"_

"_No. I'll admit, she has been a pleasing addition to the household. The fat mini snake isn't half bad either. He's very knowledgeable in various subjects. I enjoy my discussions with him. I am just saying that it is nice to see you doing something other than an arse twenty-four seven," _she sneered.

"_Oh, sod off," _he replied with feigned displeasure. He cleaned himself up and changed clothes before heading back downstairs, where someone had already began to devour the leftovers.

"If you eat all of those by yourself, you won't have any room for cake," he chuckled.

Rosette slowly turned around. She had a mass of spaghetti noodles hanging out of her mouth.

"Didn't you JUST get cleaned up?" Tom asked as he waved his wand over her, cleaning her messy face.

"'Ou 'er 'aking 'oo 'ong," she sputtered, effectively spewing a few noodles on her shirt.

Tom vanished those away, too. "You didn't even get another bowl! You're just eating out of the Tupperware!" he exclaimed. "Lazy lazy lazy."

Rosette finished her mouthful of spaghetti and let out a dramatic gasp. "I'm trying to cut down on the amount of dishes we use! YOU are just wasteful," she replied as the timer went off on the oven.

Tom thumped her on the head and walked over to the oven. He took the cake out and set it on the counter. He then took the chocolate frosting out of refrigerator and handed a spatula to Rosette.

"Would you do the honours, my dearest?"

"Gladly!" she answered.

Tom was thankful they weren't in a decorating contest. He wasn't an expert on cake decorating, but he knew that Rosette was bad at it. _Well, it'll still taste like cake. _

"Tadaa! Il est fini!" she proclaimed as she licked the spatula clean.

Tom shook his head, "No." He waved his wand over the ugly cake and eight green candles appeared. "Now, it is done. Now, blow out the candles."

Her smile was just too infectious. He too was grinning from ear to ear.

Rosette stopped just as she was about to blow them out, "No wait! It's OUR birthday. We both have to blow them out!"

"Oh alright," Tom said as he moved right next to her, putting one arm around her.

"1!" she giggled.

"2." he grinned.

"3!" they both cried before blowing out the candles.

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Rosette," Siobhan whispered as she looked at the photo of her and Rosette. "I miss you."

**A/N: One more chapter before Hogwarts! **


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